Charley Maher

Group Chief Executive Officer

Charley was appointed South Staffordshire Plc’s Group Chief Executive Officer in 2023. Prior to joining, Charley worked for YTL UK, as Chief Commercial Officer of Wessex Water Group, and Managing Director at Pelican Business Services and water2business. Earlier in her career she was with NatWest and the RBS Group.

Charley is passionate that essential services and infrastructure should always deliver for customers, clients and our planet, and has over 20 years of experience, focused on driving business growth and delivering high standards of customer service and client delivery, engaging stakeholders in a variety of sectors. A passionate enabler of people, Charley has achieved success as a leader developing cultures and connections focused on people thriving, supporting communities and creating social value. 

Rob O’Malley

Group Chief Financial Officer

Appointed CFO of South Staffordshire Plc in March 2020 having previously held senior finance roles in energy networks and utilities. He is responsible for the Group’s central support services operation, which includes Group Finance and IT services. Prior to joining, Rob was formerly Group Treasurer at Cadent Gas and Head of Corporate Finance at Electricity North West. Earlier in his career he was with United Utilities and NatWest.

Barry Hayward

Group Chief Commercial Officer

Appointed CCO of South Staffordshire Plc in January 2024 having previously held senior leadership roles in the utilities sector. Prior to joining, Barry worked for Wessex Water Enterprises, as Managing Director of GENeco, Nest Homes, Wessex Searches and Swiss Combi Technology. Prior to this, he held a range of senior roles including operational leadership positions at Wessex Water and Managing Director roles at water 2 business, Flipper and Albion Water.

Sara McCann

Group HR Director

Appointed as Group HR Director in May 2024, having joined the business in September 2023 as Head of People for South Staffordshire Water. With over 20 years’ experience in human resources, Sara has operated in senior HR leadership positions with both Global and European remits. She has a breadth of knowledge and skills across different disciplines including operational HR, employee relations, transformation projects, talent management and learning and development. Sara is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and holds certifications in Six Sigma Green Belt and Health and Safety IOSH.

Elena Karpathakis

Managing Director – South Staffs Water

Elena has been appointed South Staffs Water’s Managing Director in March 2025. Prior to joining, Elena worked for British Gas, most recently leading one of the UK’s largest engineering workforces. Earlier in her career she held leadership positions at Openreach and BT.

Elena is an executive leader for scale national service, engineering & operations business units. She has over 20 years of experience, transforming all aspects of service, financial performance, systems and process, as well as mobilising complex stakeholder groups. Her analytical and structured approach achieves step-change improvements in customer experience, people engagement, safety and financial results.

Andrew Lobley

Managing Director – Hydrosave and AES

Appointed Interim Managing Director of Group business OnSite in April 2024, Andrew previously held a senior role in sister Group company South Staffs Water as Operations Director. Prior to joining the Group, Andrew held multiple operational roles within the utilities sector at both Cambridge Water and Welsh Water.

Nick Marshall

Managing Director – Omega Red Group

Appointed as Managing Director for Omega Red Group in March 2025, having previously been Group Sales and Marketing Director at Murphy Geospatial. Prior to this, Nick held the positions of Head of Sales and Marketing at Omega Red Group, and Divisional Director at Arco Ltd. Nick is passionate about accelerating business growth alongside enhancing engagement and development across internal teams.

Steven Draper

Managing Director – Infrastructure Gateway

Appointed as Managing Director of Infrastructure Gateway in May 2018. Steven has worked in the engineering and utilities sector for over 20 years starting in the water and wastewater arena before joining Infrastructure Gateway in 2008 where he has worked with the team and been integral in the significant growth the business has seen, before becoming a member of the group in January 2023.